David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 8

The Kentucky Wildcats, one of the top teams in the AP poll coming into the 2025-26 season, have gotten off to a slow start to the year at 3-2. While that’s not a terrible record, especially with the season in its infancy, it’s underachieving for a team that was thought to be better. The underwhelming […]

It’s been a frustrating season for the Dallas Mavericks as they’ve gotten off to a poor start at 4-12. The team opted to fire general manager Nico Harrison amid multiple injuries and the team’s slow start. While the cloud of the Luka Doncic trade still hangs over the franchise, the Mavericks have their centerpiece of […]

Conference realignment has been a hot topic in college sports over the past few years. One of the biggest shakeups came last year when the Pac-12 dissolved with teams splitting off and joining the Big Ten and the Big 12. The Pac-12 will make a comeback for the 2026-27 season, but in the meantime, St. […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers continued their strong start to the season, improving to 11-4 following their 140-126 win against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, a game in which LeBron James made his season debut after returning from a nerve injury. While the high-scoring game may not completely indicate it, the Lakers’ […]

LOS ANGELES – After a delayed start to the 2025-26 season due to a nerve injury, LeBron James was cleared to make his return to the lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. James had been sidelined since the start of training camp due to a sciatica issue, and […]

LOS ANGELES – Now in his second season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, JJ Redick has often mentioned the need for the Lakers to be in what he calls, ‘championship shape.’ The team has started off the 2025-26 season at 10-4 which is currently good enough for fourth place in the Western […]

LOS ANGELES – In the NBA, when injuries happen, it usually opens the door for opportunity for other players on the roster. That was the case for the Los Angeles Lakers when Bronny James found himself in the rotation following the ankle injury to Gabe Vincent. Gabe Vincent suffered the injury back during the Lakers’ […]

LOS ANGELES – The South Bay Lakers added to an already talented roster this past week with the acquisition of Kobe Bufkin as he attempts to use the G League as a pathway for him to ultimately get back to the NBA. Bufkin was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft by […]

LOS ANGELES – This past week was saw a bit of a role reversal for the Los Angeles Lakers in a bit of a humorous way. Not only did Bronny James get his first career start, but LeBron James was assigned to the South Bay Lakers in the G League for practice reps as he […]

The West Virginia Mountaineers have started off the 2025-26 season, their first under new head coach Ross Hodge, at 4-0. The good feelings for West Virginia have continued, this time on the recruiting trail, as the Mountaineers landed the commitment of five-star guard Miles Sadler, their third recruit from the the class of 2026, as […]

The Atlanta Hawks have been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference so far with an 8-5 record. The team has also managed to withstand an injury to star point guard Trey Young. The Hawks were hit with another injury update, however, in the form of Kristaps Porzingis as they head into their […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have suffered a rash of player injury issues lately, with Kelly Oubre Jr. just having being ruled out for the team’s game against Detroit Pistons last Friday. Joel Embiid continues to have his knee injury rehab managed, and the latest injury news came in the form of key big man Adem Bona […]

Jonathan Kuminga missed his first game of the season last Friday during the Golden State Warriors’ 109-108 win against the San Antonio Spurs due to a knee injury. Kuminga was spotted at Warriors’ shootaround on Sunday before the team’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, but he will remain out as the team is being […]

The Louisville Cardinals landed arguably the top point guard recruits of the class of 2025 in Mikel Brown Jr. Brown has been among the top freshman in the country this season and Louisville has been one of the better teams in the nation as well ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll and 4-0 to […]

The Sacramento Kings made a change on Friday, placing Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup permanently beginning with their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Kings ended up losing to the Wolves, 124-110, however, Russell Westbrook had an NBA history-making performance. Following the game, he took to social media to convey his thoughts on his […]

The Texas Longhorns are in their first season under Sean Miller as head coach, and he’s already made a major impact in terms of recruiting. Back in September, Texas landed the program’s first recruit from the class of 2026 in Bo Ogden, a talented wing from Austin, TX. They followed that up in securing the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. Veteran guard Marcus Smart is on the injury report for the Lakers and is listed as questionable. Smart is dealing with an illness, and he did suit up during the Lakers’ win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Here’s everything we know about […]

The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 9-4 on the season, and 2-0 in NBA Cup play following their 118-104 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. In the Lakers’ win, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves continued to lay their claim to being the best duo in the NBA as both players combined for 55 […]

The Sacramento Kings made a change on Friday moving Russell Westbrook into the starting lineup against the Minnesota Timberwolves amid a brutal start to the season. Although the Kings were on the verge of losing to the Timberwolves as of publication, Russell Westbrook continued to etch his name in NBA history by joining an exclusive […]

The New York Knicks are in their first season of the Mike Brown era after hiring him as the team’s head coach, and have so far started off the year at 7-4 which is currently good enough for an essential tie with the Philadelphia 76ers for second in the Eastern Conference standings. During the Knicks’ […]

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry sent ripple waves through the NBA world this week when it was announced that Curry wold be severing ties with Under Armour, the company who he’s had an apparel sponsorship with since 2013. And as the Warriors prepared to take on the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, Curry might […]

The Denver Nuggets have started off the 2025-26 season as one of the better teams in the Western Conference with a record of 9-2. The Nuggets are coming into Saturday with a big conference matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they are going to be short-handed as Cam Johnson appeared on the team’s injury report […]

The Purdue Boilermakers came into the 2025-26 season as the No. 1 ranked team in the country in the AP men’s basketball poll, and so far they’ve shown why that ranking is justified. Purdue knocked off another ranked team in Alabama, 87-80, on Tuesday with Trey Kaufman-Renn joining an exclusive club with his performance. With […]

The North Carolina Tar Heels suffered a major blow this month when it was announced that senior guard Seth Trimble would be sidelined for the time being due to injury. Trimble suffered a freak arm injury during a workout when a piece of equipment fell on his arm, causing a broken bone. Trimble is expected […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have surprisingly been among the top teams in the Eastern Conference with a record of 7-4 with just about one month into the regular season. A big reason for the 76ers’ solid play has been rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, although he did appear on the team’s injury report ahead of their NBA […]

Back in July, the USC Trojans landed the commitment of the No. 1 player in the class of 2026 in Saniyah Hall. Wednesday marked National Signing Day when high school athletes can officially sign their letters of intent for college, and USC kicked the day off by officially signing Hall. The signing of Saniyah Hall […]

The Memphis Grizzlies came into Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics looking to snap a two-game losing streak. Not only did the Grizzlies not do that, falling to the Celtics by a score of 131-95, but they suffered a potential blow on the injury front regarding veteran guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider […]

The Dallas Mavericks finally did the inevitable when the organization decided to fire general manager Nico Harrison this week. Harrison had become extremely unpopular among the Mavericks fanbase following the controversial Luka Doncic trade last season, and matters only worsened after the team’s poor start to the season. Prior to the Mavericks’ game against the […]

One of the greatest teams to never win an NBA championship was the Oklahoma City Thunder with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. While Harden was ultimately traded, Durant and Westbrook remained a formidable duo. That team never reached the NBA Finals again after losing to the Miami Heat in 2012, and the team […]

With the 2025-26 NBA season just about one month in, the one coach seemingly on the hot seat according to rumors is New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green. The Pelicans have gotten off to a poor start to the season and rumors have continued to swirl that Green’s firing could be imminent. The latest […]

When NBA teams invite players to training camp, the harsh reality is the majority of them don’t really have a chance at making the team’s final roster. But with the continued growth and expansion of the G League, it’s given NBA teams the option to keep some of those players under their umbrella and monitor […]

LOS ANGELES – The 2025-26 G League season officially tipped-off this week, and the South Bay Lakers, affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers, came away with a 144-105 opening-night win against the Valley Suns. While it was just the first game of the season for South Bay, the prevailing thought following the win was that […]

The Arizona Wildcats have done well on the recruiting trail in recent seasons, with forward Koa Peat among the top freshmen in the country this year. On Sunday, Arizona landed another top recruit with the commitment of Cameron Holmes, as per Dushawn London of 247 Sports. Cameron Holmes’ commitment to Arizona came after interest from […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off their most-lopsided loss of the season after they were trounced by the Atlanta Hawks, 122-102 to begin their current road trip. The Lakers will face off against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday for the second game of the trip, and they might have some reinforcements. Austin Reaves has […]

Back during the preseason, the LA Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs hosted the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. NBA fans were familiar with one name in particular on Guangzhou’s roster in Victor Oladipo who acknowledged he wanted to make a league comeback. Over the weekend, Victor Oladipo took another step […]

The Sacramento Kings host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. Domantas Sabonis is on the Kings’ injury report and is listed as questionable, as per the NBA’s official injury report. Sabonis is dealing with a left ribcage contusion. Here is everything we know about Domantas Sabonis’ injury and his playing status for the Kings vs. […]

The Golden State Warriors host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. Stephen Curry is on the Warriors’ injury report alongside Al Horford, with both players listed as questionable, as per the NBA’s official injury report. Curry is dealing with an illness, while Horford has a left foot strain. Here’s everything we know about Stephen Curry […]

Coming into the 2025-26 NBA season, the LA Clippers were looked as being a potential contender in the Western Conference due to their offseason roster additions. The Clippers have stumbled out of the gates a little bit at 3-5 in the early goings of the season, but they still have time to turn it around. […]

The Syracuse Orange moved to 2-0 in the early goings of the 2025-26 season following their 83-43 win against Delaware State on Saturday. In that game, Syracuse freshman guard Kiyan Anthony made his first career start, and finished with 19 points, three rebounds and four assists. Following Syracuse’s win against Delaware State, Kiyan Anthony spoke […]